22 December 2015

UGANDA - Heroic Oilers can’t afford to rest on their laurels

Oilers etched themselves in the annals of basketball history as one of Uganda’s finest ever sides. photo by I. KEZAALA

By Robert Madoi

Posted
Sunday, December 20
2015 at
02:00

Since joining the topflight, City Oilers’ status
as a pillar in Ugandan club basketball has only solidified. It’s
foolish not to take them seriously especially after they came full
circle this past week by completing a sensational three-peat. There
was an eerily similarity between Oilers’ conquest of UCU Canons and that
of Falcons in the playoff finals three years back. Both finals series
needed a decider that saw Oilers admirably fray nerves in the closing
frame. And there were also unlikely heroes after the final roll of the
dice. Daniel ‘Najja’ Juuko in 2013 and James Okello on Wednesday. But
that’s as far as the similarities got.

While the Falcons trio of Stephen Omony,
Dullah Ramathan and Philip Ameny cut the picture of the Rolling Stones
on one final tour, Canons players like Steven Wundi and Jonathan Egau
were the very embodiment of new kids on the block. Also the fact that
the Canons were first-time finalists meant that they wouldn’t have in
their possession a book of ready-made questions and answers as did
Falcons in 2013.

Conversely, when the unheralded Oilers took on
a Falcons outfit steeped in great bas-ketball tradition, there was no
prize for guessing who were the underdogs. Falcons’ know-how that had
raked half a dozen titles put them in the box position. Yet they would
go onto be dealt a sharp setback in a riveting finals series.

Playoff finals can be a minefield of
expectations. Just ask Power who didn’t know what had hit them in last
year’s finals when Oilers turned on the style. In fact, when Oilers
opened up a 2-0 lead a fortnight ago, many feared that in the offing was
a whitewash not to dissimilar from the one Power suffered last year.
Canons, though, would go on to defy the odds by ensuring that the
best-of-seven series went down to the wire.

Having been treated dismissively going into
the playoff finals, the Canons will be pleased that they for once didn’t
implode. Sure, they will look back with regret at those pair of missed
free throws by Ivan Lumanyika in game five and the cold display during
the final frame of the decider. But in a sense, they overachieved; never
mind that their sheer force of will failed to carry the day.

How about Oilers then? A three-peat is a
surefire way of persuading observers that things are prim and proper.
That the club is a legend of our time. But the fact that they never
quite found satisfactory answers to questions the Canons asked means
that they will be looking over their shoulder.

Oilers now face a tricky tightrope walk
between sticking with a squad that memorably won a three-peat and trying
to further strengthen it. The itchiness around the decision seems to
come specifically from attaching concern to the fact Power finally
mustered a postseason win against them and Canons ran them close in the
finals. If a dynasty is what Oilers are looking at creating, resting on
their laurels should be the last thing on their minds. Some times if it
ain’t broke you still have to fix it. Just ask Jose Mourinho.